China

Andy Wong/Associated Press

China is the planet’s most populous country and second largest by land mass. Its civilization is one of the world’s oldest, and it has maintained an advanced economy for two millennia. A single-party socialist state, China has been governed by the Communist Party since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 under Mao Zedong, who would usher in both the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.

China has become one of the globe’s fastest-growing post-industrial economies since reforms were put into place in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping and his supporters, and its rapid industry growth since then has led to competition with the United States and Europe. China’s expanding economic and global influence and perceived authoritarianism have contributed to its image as a formidable world power and played into both regional clashes and accusations of censorship and civil rights violations.

Keep up to date on breaking news in China and explore our extensive archive below.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 2, 2015

Chinese technology firms are addressing food safety issues in country's vast food supply chain, seeking to upgrade old systems with data collection, smartphone apps and online markets; they are attempting to earn trust of customers by helping them avoid tainted food, but food safety scandals still occur often. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Chinese government of Pres Xi Jinping is cracking down on grass-roots organizations, especially those that criticize government; Yang Zili of labor rights group Transition Institute of Social and Economic Research went into hiding after police began detaining his colleagues. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Feb. 26, 2015

Daejeong Journal; Chinese visitors have been flocking to city of Daejeong on South Korean island of Jeju, causing some residents to fear what amounts to Chinese takeover as tourists descend en masse, investors snap up land and China wields increasing influence over local economy; some locals harbor long-simmering resentments against China or fear being pushed out. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Tie Liu, underground publisher and survivor of Mao's purges in 1950s, is convicted on charges of creating public disturbance by publishing memoirs of people persecuted for criticizing Communist Party; Liu is given relatively light sentence in exchange for guilty plea, but his conviction points to Communist Party's determination to stamp out dissent. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

State-run Beijing Forbidden City Film Corporation's choice of French director Jean-Jacques Annaudi to helm film Wolf Totem is surprising given both Annaudi's nationality and work history; many expected film, based on best-selling Chinese novel, to be led by Chinese director, and Annaudi's 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet soured his relations with China. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Photographer Xu Yong insists that his latest book Negatives, which features images he shot during 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing and has since kept hidden, is only meant to be art, not political commentary; publication of book is risky move, as many Chinese have recently been detained for sharing pictures of or even discussing 1989 protests. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

China's economic boom has created opportunities for Chinese businesswomen, but also prompted resurgence of traditional values that woman's place is at home; Communist government has long emphasized women's equality, but examination of corporate records shows fewer than 1 in 10 board members in country's top 300 companies are female. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Continuing weakness of Chinese renminbi is growing worry for country's policy makers and corporate executives; Chinese central bank must continually prevent currency from falling, as its declines reflect fact that wealthy Chinese are moving large sums of money out of country; banks, traders and many companies have begun shifting money out of China and betting on currency's further depreciation. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Chongli Journal; China has emerged as serious contender to host 2022 Winter Olympics despite significant lack of snow at proposed site Chongli and other shortcomings; all five democratic competitor nations have withdrawn from race amid public opposition; China's only rival now is Kazakhstan, fact that guarantees games will be held in authoritarian nation. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Grucci family will be executing major fireworks display in New York City as part of series of events commemorating Lunar New Year; Fireworks by Grucci, based in Bellport, NY, has developed close relationship with Chinese authorities, beginning in 1979, and has become go-to firm for some high-profile Chinese fireworks exhibitions. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab says United States has discovered method to permanently embed surveillance and sabotage tools in computers in countries like Iran, Russia, Pakistan and China; points out many of tools are designed to run on computers that are not connected to Internet, and lets US intelligence agencies unlock scrambled contents unnoticed. MORE

Feb. 16, 2015

Bishop Cosma Shi Enxiang, one of few Catholic bishops in China who refused to renounce loyalty to pope, is reported dead; has been imprisoned for decades and in recent years held in secret location without charge; authorities deny report when family members attempt to collect his remains; diocese of Hong Kong appeals to Chinese government to release body for burial if he has died and to free another imprisoned bishop. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Corruption investigations at China's state television network China Central Television has led to detention of at least 15 senior executives and has left employees on edge; network has been most powerful propaganda tool in Communist Party's arsenal; focus of inquiry is corrupt business practices and cozy relationships news anchors and executives have with party leaders; party is seizing investigation as chance to reinforce network's propaganda role. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

China sentences to prison 27 people with connections to former Chinese official Long Baorong, who died in 2012 after being jailed following attempts to expose corruption; all defendants are members of Hmong tribe and had been charged with involvement in organized crime, but their advocates say allegations are politically motivated. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Man in Shanghai crashes his car into barrier in front of United States Consulate, injuring one Chinese guard; authorities believe he had no political motive. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

Chinese Pres Xi Jinping will make his first official visit to United States in September. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

Michael B Froman, United States trade representative, announces Obama administration will file case with World Trade Organization accusing China of illegally subsidizing industries aimed at export market; announcement is both meant for Beijing and Congress, where Pres Obama is pushing for more authority in negotiating trade deals like Trans-Pacific Partnership. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Tesla is facing significant setbacks in its effort to expand in China, where a lack of charging infrastructure and a bias toward homegrown competition are hobbling sales of its electric vehicles; failure is all the more disappointing because China should present strong market, with its plethora of millionaires and deep concerns about pollution; weak sales at Chinese unit are expected to be a blemish on impending earnings report. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Chinese billionaire brothers Liu Han and Liu Wei are executed after organized crime, murder and extortion conviction; is noteworthy that sentences are carried out despite Liu family’s $6 billion wealth; China leads world in executions. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Yuan Guiren, China's education minister, ramps up calls for ban on textbooks that promote Western values, warning that they will corrupt young minds; latest censorship attempts elicit rare open criticism from Chinese academics and students, who reject idea that they are intellectually vulnerable and note that Guiren has reversed his prior comments promoting openness. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Qualcomm says it will pay $975 million for breaking China's antimonopoly law; settlement allows company to work closely with Chinese smartphone firms, where it derives half its revenue; ruling nevertheless opens new phase in economic conflict between China and United States. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

New generation of Chinese smartphone start-ups like Smartisan are marketing low-cost handsets to younger Chinese customers who want personal identity in phone; they are utilizing social media and other marketing ploys to gain loyalty and build name recognition. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Heavy industry in China is in sharp downturn, but full impact on remainder of economy is murky. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

Chinese Pres Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to United States later in 2015. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Feb. 8, 2015

Growing number of wealthy Chinese buyers are investing in luxury properties on the Gold Coast of Long Island's North Shore; developers are catering to new clientele, choosing traditionally lucky numbers for pricing and using feng shui techniques during design and decoration. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

China formally detains Kevin Garratt, Canadian man tied to Christian group providing aid to North Koreans across border from China, on suspicion of stealing state secrets; releases the man's wife after holding the couple for six months without charge. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

China's State Administration of Taxation announces review that will largely target practices used by foreign-owned companies to move money and allocate costs among Chinese operations and overseas business; review is latest in series of moves against mostly Western companies in effort to increase tax collection. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Argentinian Pres Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner mocks Chinese pronunciation following state visit to China to promote trade and is quickly accused of racism on social media; Kirchner apologizes but fails to remove comments from her Twitter account. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

People's Bank of China decreases required reserve ratio for commercial banks by half percentage point; move, which will stimulate growth in country's economy by giving institutions more leeway for lending, us particularly helpful for real estate and industry; decision dovetails with actions by other central banks around the world that have tried to stimulate domestic growth amid uncertainty about state of global economy. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Chinese court announces execution of Zhang Lidong and his daughter Zhang Fan, members of banned religious sect Church of Almighty God, for beating Wu Shuoyan to death at a McDonald's in Zhaoyuan, China. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Artist and restauranteur Michael Chow holds his first exhibition in mainland China, which he left in 1952 at age 12; exhibition is dedicated to his father Zhou Xinfang, revered opera star who was tortured and put under house arrest during Cultural Revolution. MORE

Jan. 31, 2015

Editorial contends that series of steps China has taken to tightly control Internet communication and devices will harm both Chinese economy and its international business relations; holds that country's proposed regulations, which are aimed at suppressing dissent and promoting Chinese technology at expense of foreign industry, amount to protectionism and will discourage trade negotiations with rest of the world. MORE

Jan. 31, 2015

China's State Admin for Industry and Commerce backtracks from complaints made about Alibaba Group for its failure to stop sale of fake goods on its websites after meeting between Zhang Mao, regulator's leader, and Alibaba chairman Jack Ma. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

Chinese officials are further tightening and restricting Internet access; crackdown is angering artists, entrepreneurs and professors who say country's economy is being choked at time of declining growth; multinational companies also worry about rising online restrictions of virtual private networks, or VPNs. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

December 2014 incident in which North Korean soldier crossed border into northeastern China and fatally shot two older Chinese couples has alarmed Chinese officials and come to represent strained relations between countries; officials say soldier likely slipped across border to steal food, raising questions over North Korea's treatment of its armed forces. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

NBA Roundup; NBA announces five-year deal with Tencent Holdings Limited to carry games and other content on its digital platforms in China; other basketball news noted. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

New regulations adopted by Chinese government governing computer equipment sold to Chinese financial companies is causing concern among foreign companies about protectionism that will force them out of one of world's fastest-growing markets; rules are first in series that China says are meant to strengthen cybersecurity. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"ARTICLES ABOUT CHINA","query":"(geo like \"China\" or geo like \"(China)\") and tom!=\"Editorial\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"Obituary\" and tom!=\"paid death notice\" and hdl!=\"paid notice\" and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Summary\" and tom!=\"Schedule\" and tom!=\"Letter\" and dsk!=\"Travel\" and dsk!=\"Escapes\" and dsk!=\"Dining\" and dsk!=\"Fashion\" and dsk!=\"Fashions\" and dsk!=\"Style\" and dsk!=\"Styles\" and dsk!=\"Society\" and dsk!=\"Home\" and dsk!=\"Home\/Style\" and dsk!=\"Living\" and dsk!=\"Beauty\" and dsk!=\"Design\" and dsk!=\"Theater\" and des!=\"Theater\" and dsk!=\"Movies\" and des!=\"Motion Pictures\" and des!=\"Movies\" and dsk!=\"Great Homes and Destinations\"","search_query":"(glocations.contains:\"China\" OR glocations.contains:\"\\(China\\)\") AND -type_of_material:\"Editorial\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"paid death notice\" AND -headline:\"paid notice\" AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Summary\" AND -type_of_material:\"Schedule\" AND -type_of_material:\"Letter\" AND -news_desk:\"Travel\" AND -news_desk:\"Escapes\" AND -news_desk:\"Dining\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashion\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashions\" AND -news_desk:\"Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Styles\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\/Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Living\" AND -news_desk:\"Beauty\" AND -news_desk:\"Design\" AND -news_desk:\"Theater\" AND -subject:\"Theater\" AND -news_desk:\"Movies\" AND -subject:\"Motion Pictures\" AND -subject:\"Movies\" AND -news_desk:\"Great Homes and Destinations\"","num_search_articles":"55","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"CHINA","more_on_header":"MORE ON CHINA AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"all.main","show_thumbnails":true}

Two recent court rulings, and Kong Qingdong’s refusal to comply with one of them, have prompted a debate about the extent to which public figures can be held accountable for their statements, and the right of ordinary citizens to criticize such...

All members of China’s Politburo Standing Committee, the group of politicians who rule the country, have close connections with former leaders. The top two figures of the new administration were also part of the previous government.